The USGBC Massachusetts Chapter "promotes the design, construction, and operation of sustainable buildings and communities in Massachusetts..." Here, we showcase what the community is up to: who we are and what we do.

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Wednesday, May 28, 2014

LEED ND: Beyond Buildings Attracts Neighborhood Professionals

By Bob Weiss, Sustainable Neighborhood Development Working Group, USGBC MABefore
a spirited crowd filling the seats in the Atlantic Wharf’s Fort
Point Room, the USGBC MA Chapter, in conjunction with the Boston
Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) and the American
Planning Association Massachusetts Chapter (APA-MA), presented a
half-day program on LEED ND in Massachusetts communities. Billed as
not-a-LEED-101-course, experienced professionals in neighborhood
development provided insights and true accounts of their applications
of USGBC’s platform to fellow professionals.

After
opening comments from the USGBC MA Chapter Chair Jim Newman, LISC’s
Bob Van Meter and the APA MA’s Bob Mitchell, the day began with an
overall retrospective of LEED ND from the USGBC MA Chapter Vice Chair
Neil Angus. Attendees were brought up to date with LEED ND’s
evolution including the changes in V4.

Neil
then moderated a panel presentation on two LEED ND pilot projects
from 2008. The 11 acre Jackson Square project in Roxbury and Jamaica
Plain was presented by Carolyn Edwards, Real Estate Project Manager
with Urban Edge,who discussed how the project is bringing healthy
sustainable living to a mixed-income inner city area with new
commercial spaces, community facilities and transportation
alternatives to an area that 40 years ago was going to be surrendered
to the interstate system. Greg Sampson, a Land Use Attorney with
Robinson & Cole presented The Village at Taylor Pond in Bedford,
a great example of how LEED ND can be a tool for sustainable
development in suburban areas.

Mike
Davis, Program Officer with LISC Boston, moderated a panel
discussion introducing three new projects illustrating how LEED ND
will help build sustainable neighborhoods for the future. Darcy
Jameson with Beacon Communities and Lauren Baumann of New Ecology,
Inc. noted how Old Colony housing, a traditional public housing
project in South Boston used LEED ND to create a holistic approach in
transforming it into a neighborhood integrated into a larger urban
community. The Neighborhood Developers’ Emily Loomis described how
Chelsea’s Box District is turning an older industrial area into a
pedestrian oriented community with enhanced transportation that will
connect it with the metropolitan area. Paul Malkemes, a local
resident and community advocate gave a great resident perspective of
how LEED ND was used to drive quality-of-life improvements to Codman
Square NDC’s Talbot Norfolk Triangle. Paul said LEED ND was used
as a “framing mechanism” and helped residents embrace sustainable
development.

Neil, along with Tad Read of the Boston Redevelopment Authority, brought the program together in their presentations on using the LEED ND rating system as a tool to enhance the sustainability of local projects, regulations and development codes.

The
audience initiated discussions on several LEED ND subjects such as
quantifiable requirements, how to use the system’s formulas to
facilitate a project and the importance of public education and
outreach. There were detailed questions on using program credits to
compliment other credits. Though the event ran to its noon finish,
many attendees remained for an informal improvised networking.
Chapter organizers have more LEED ND events planned and will be
announcing them shortly.